What a week. The news of vaccines which might well overcome the Covid virus in time, offering a hopeful future but we must be vigilant. As we sit this Sunday morning nothing has changed. Reminds me of the cowboy song:
The Sun comes up, Sun goes down
This ol’ world keeps spinning around,
Not much has changed since you been gone,
I miss you honey but life goes on.
It’s still vital to distance, mask up and wash hands. Do you think this time next week we’ll be able to plan Christmas, shop, meet friends and be happy with our families?
The concept of time has changed for so many of us – there’s more of it, time to phone the friends you haven’t seen for ages, time to read a book or indulge in a box set on Netflix as television is woeful with few exceptions. Strictly come Dancing was on in the room last night and it sounds like the whole thing has become totally hysterical – there was so much shouting and screaming. All rather bazaar.
Many gardens are looking much smarter and home improvements and long planned renovation are almost finished. More time to experiment with cooking due to boredom but resulting in expanded waist lines and unfortunately with that goes a bottle or two of wine and the chance that the liking gets too much. This has happened a lot over lockdown, in the absence of pubs and restaurants drinking at home has become the norm and that has its pleasure but also its danger. This was being discussed on Radio 5 Live and the advice was take your beer out of a wine glass, sip it and this way the ‘pint’ lasts longer. I don’t drink beer, hate the smell, but I can’t imagine this idea will appeal. More acceptable is the suggestion that when a woman more than a man is cooking she’ll pour herself a glass of sherry and keeps refilling. Swap the sherry bottle for a coke bottle because apparently it’s the habit rather than the taste and the coke can end up being as pleasing as the sherry! Not sure about this either.
Lockdown has resulted in another negative and that’s domestic violence. Figures have rocketed which will become obvious when Women’s Aid publish their 2020 figures. We’ve had a lot to battle with and probably more to come, temptation, frustration, lack of choice, lack of hugs, lack of grandchildren. Please God these vaccines will do their work and the government, here and there, will be up to the task of distributing and monitoring.
THIS IS MOLLY-ELIZABETH FRANCIS FROM DUBLIN. HERE IS HER REFLECTIONS ON HER PAST WEEK . DATED NOVEMBER 20th AT 4.46 P.M.
So Louis Hamilton is to be dubbed by the queen. Apparently ‘Sir’ Louis is considered by many to be the UK’s greatest living sportsman which is surely debatable. This 35 year old is worth £250 million, lives in Monaco and has saved on taxes by housing his £16.5 million private jet in the Island of Man. Still he pays huge taxes in the UK so fair enough. My beef with this honour is fairly obvious – he just drives a car – bet that makes me popular with enthusiasts! Certainly he takes chances, approaches bends at speeds around 164 miles an hour, he’s brilliant managing complex computerised controls which takes skill and courage over and over again round tracks he knows and obviously can handle better than anyone else although I’m sorry he’s being restricted at the moment because of the virus in the camp.
A skilled driver with a supersonic car is bound to do well and deserves credit but surely it’s the designers and technicians who deserve the glory.
However, is he “Britain’s highest achieving sportsman of his era, possibly of all time” as sports journalist Jonathan McEvoy claims? What are the bets he’ll be crowned Sports Personality of the Year in December?
JONATHAN REA GETS MY VOTE
Larne man Jonathan Rea (although born there Ballymena claims him as their own) is the first motor bike rider in 45 years to take six consecutive FIM road racing world championships. What a man, modest and dedicated to his sport and family. When two of his training bikes were stolen earlier this month it was the fact they took his young sons bikes too that seemed to upset him most. His dad was a racer too and competed in the Isle of Man T.T and his grandfather sponsored Joey Dunlop so there’s ia lot of history there. I think this man, who reaches speeds of 205 miles an hour, scraping the ground as he defies gravity taking corners with no protection round him except air bags inside his leathers, must be one of the highest achieving sportsmen. Can you believe he isn’t even on the short list for the boring sports personality of the year – five English men and one woman jockey from the South of Ireland.
We are a great sporting country and one of the greatest world acclaimed sporting events was the annual ARDS T.T. This tourist trophy race ran from 1928 to finish in 1936 when local driver Jack Chambers lost control, skidded and crashed. Eight spectators were killed and 40 injured and that was the end of The ARDS T.T.
During the nine years this high powered event drew every major car manufacturer and competitors from all over Europe and beyond and half a million spectators lined the route which was held on public roads from the main Belfast to Newtownards roads close to the village of Dundonald and on through Comber.
The drivers and sponsors were legendary, colourful, wealthy and charming – Count Conelli in a Bugatti, Russian Boris Ivanovsky in a Alfa Romeo, the first winner Rudi Carraciola, Earl Howe sporting a blue umbrella, Malcolm Campbell who’s car went on fire and Baron L. d’erlanger in his Lagonda. In amongst these was local garage owner Jack Coulter with his Ford driven by Captain F.N McDowell. ‘Scrap’ Thistlethwayte anchored his private yacht in Bangor Bay and confounded his playboy image by setting up the fastest lap of 74.39 mph. Glamorous Englishman ‘Flying’ Freddy Dixon was another legend reaching 100 miles per hour on the straights.
CABBAGE PATCH DOLL
During the 1932 race he misjudged his speed at Quarry Corner, sailed over a high hedge and dived nose first into a cabbage patch! For over 14 miles and six hours the touring cars, straight from the showrooms no adaptations allowed, battled it out round the Hairpin Bend, up Bradshaws Brae, through Horse Trough corner, past the butchers shop and the Central bar.
Hugh Hamilton from Omagh Co. Tyrone (above) poses with his mother, his pit manager Col. Goldie Gardner and his unnamed but handsome mechanic. The unfortunate man was blamed for causing a scheduled refuelling stop midway but it went wrong and took seven minutes instead of two. Hamilton picked up time and ended up second in the race.
On a sunny August day in 1929, 67 cars lined up for the ‘Le Mans’ start where drivers raced across the track to their machines, jumped in, gunned the engine and accelerated off to determine the first and best ARDS year of them all. It was won by German driver Carraciola who was displeased that his wife wasn’t allowed into his pit area.
Initially women weren’t allowed into the pits which were hiving with male members of the public, Frau Carraciola dressed as a man in order to support her husband was spotted and ‘ejected from the pit’ Of course there was no mission of a woman becoming a driver although this rule was relaxed in 1936, the final year of the Arts T.T,, when the only female driver, Mrs. Elsie (Bill) Wisdom took to the circuit in a Fiat.but was ‘flagged off’ after 28 laps.
Even in photographs of the male dignitaries, Lord Craigavon, the Duke of Abercorn and the like were all credited but the elegant ladies in the group are not even mentioned.
How do I know all of this? Thanks to re-organising my library I came on the Ulster Vintage Car Club book of The Arts T.T. Written by the members of the committee and John S. Moore printed by Blackstaff Press 1978. Each year is covered in detail, the history, lists of cars, drivers with laps completed and results. Evocative black and white photos of individual cars, handsome drivers, crowded scenes and much more, you can smell the petrol and hear the roar of the engines and the shouts of the crowd.
I see copies are available on Amazon at £21,70 and to get a real whiff of the action with Campari, Nuvolari and Algernon Lee Guinness screeching down the straight and taking the bends, spectators jumping out of the way as wheels mounted the pavements and threatened their toes, Pathé News film is on YouTube, just call up RAC Tourist T.T or RAC International Race. Watch the real thing and I think you’ll agree.
Such is the skill these drivers possessed, the derring-do, the spills and the thrills they are heroes and Johnathan Rea is cut from the same cloth.
The amazing ‘thunder snow’ over Edinburgh was spectacular, the booming of the thunder earsplitting as it hit the snow and the lightening more wondrous than ever as it reflected off the snow on the ground and the snowflakes as they fell. Couldn’t wait to speak to my brother next morning to get a birds eye view from his city. What a disappointment: ” I thought I heard thunder but I turned over and went back to sleep. Has it been snowing? Must go and have a look.” From our man on the spot rather a dismissive report.
AND FINALLY ……….
MISS BEATRICE THE CHURCH ORGANIST WAS IN HER EIGHTIES, SPINSTER AND MUCH LOVED FOR HER SWEETNESS AND KIDNESS TO ALL. ONE AFTERNOON THE PASTOR CAME TO CALL AND SHE SHOWED HIM INTO HER COMFY SITTING ROOM. HE TOOK A SEAT WHILST SHE WENT TO MAKE A CUP OF TEA. AS HE SAT FACING HER OLD HAMMOND ORGAN THE YOUNG MINISTER NOTICED A CUT GLASS BOWL SITTING ON TOP OF IT, FILLED WITH WATER AND IN THE WATER FLOATED A COMDOM. WHEN SHE RETURNED WITH TEA AND SCONES THEY BEGAN TO CHAT. THE PASTOR EVENTUALLY GOT ROUND TO ASKING ABOUT THE BOWL AND ITS CONTENTS. “I WAS WALKING THROUGH THE PARK AND I FOUND THIS LITTLE PACKAGE ON THE GROUND.” SHE SAID. ” THE DIRECTIONS SAID TO PLACE IT ON THE ORGAN, KEEP IT WET AND THAT WOULD PREVENT THE SPREAD OF DISEASE.” WITH A SWEET SMILE SHE ADDED, “SO IMPORTANT AT THE MOMENT DON’T YOU THINK?”
I send love and good vibes to you for the coming week and positive thoughts to all the many people who are ill or in hospital at the moment under the care of our terrific doctors and nurses . And to carers both in nursing homes and to those at home who are looking after their sick relatives.